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Friday Faves

Happy December! My most favorite month of the year! I can’t believe the Christmas season is already here, and that we are coming up on the end of another year. Time goes so fast…it’s hard to keep up. It’s been a whirlwind, basically since the week of Thanksgiving, and I’m determined to soak up the rest of this month and *try* to slow down a little. Big emphasis on the try. It’s so hard. There’s always so much I want to do this time of year and I’m notorious for over-packing our schedules. I’m sick with a nasty cold right now, which isn’t helping matters, but we already have reservations to ride the Polar Express to the North Pole tonight;) so I’ll be sucking it up (literally) and making the most of it. Praying I can get over this sickness before the week of Christmas. Oh, and it is C.O.L.D. here today. Like, in the 20s cold. Definitely feeling like Christmas up in here. We really may be going to the North Pole tonight.

On to some faves as of late…

*Splurge on this candle. Trust me. The best holiday scent there is. I’d really like to order the Birchwood Pine scent as well.

*Who scored some good Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals? I didn’t venture out on Black Friday, but I was all over the Cyber Monday craziness. I thought there were some really good deals this year…better than normal even. I knocked out some Christmas gifts and helped Matt out by buying a few things he can wrap and give to me for my birthday and Christmas;) I usually try and do a Christmas Wish List post every year, so maybe I’ll work on that next week. My favorite gift to myself? My new Ninja Coffee Bar! It finally came in this week and I’ve been reading the manual and can’t wait to try it out this weekend.

*I am OBSESSED with our new print from House of Belonging. We have a relatively large wall in our living room that I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with since we moved in. I knew I wanted a large print, but didn’t want to buy just anything and kept waiting till something caught my eye. I came across this small business on Instagram (@houseofbelonging) awhile back and knew I wanted a piece to hang somewhere. When she posted a similar piece using these song lyrics, I knew it was the one. Other than the fact that this is one of my favorite songs, it’s also what I would sing to Asher Wade while rocking him to sleep every night. So it has a lot of special meaning to me, and always will. The owner/artist is so talented and all of the pieces in her shop are gorgeous. I highly recommend! Check out the Etsy shop here.

*Another sweet, small business find is The Giving Manger. I recently bought one of these for us to do as a family. The idea is that for every act of service/kindness leading up to Christmas, you get to place a piece of straw in the manger, in preparation for Baby Jesus. I love how this is a simple way to start teaching AW the true Reason for the Season and encouraging service and kindness towards others during the Christmas season. Plus, it’s a fun, meaningful activity for us to do as a family. It looks like the Giving Mangers are all sold out for 2016, but you can pre-order yours for Christmas 2017.

*Cranberry margaritas. I made these over the Thanksgiving holiday, and have continued to since. Such a fun, festive cocktail, that is super easy to make. Mix together ½ cup tequila (I prefer Tres Agaves or Patron), ¾ cup orange liqueur (Patron Orange Liqueur is a good one), ¾ cup fresh lime juice and 1.5 cups cranberry juice. Stir well and then pour over ice. Garnish with a few fresh cranberries. This makes around 3 nice sized margaritas, so just double or triple the recipe as needed. I think I tripled it to get a full pitcher.

*We finally had a successful Santa visit! The first couple ones we attempted did NOT go over well. For a little boy that goes on and on about Santa, I’m not sure why he acted so scared. We did a Brunch with Santa event this past Sunday and for whatever reason, Asher Wade decided he liked this Santa. He was more than happy to spout off his Christmas List and give him letter. He asked Santa for a remote controlled Blaze, black Lightning McQueen, Lion Guard Playset and a “big Lightning McQueen that he can ride in” (which apparently is not being made anymore so Santa is going to have to get creative here).